DOUBLES: Doppelgangers, Mirrored Motifs, Before/After, & Total Plagiarism

[Doohickamabob]

 

I'm starting a thread about golden-age comic books that fit into a duo somehow. They might work from the same theme/motif, one might be copying the other, they might have an amusing before-and-after contrast, be mirror images or visually echo each other, be of a piece stylistically, or otherwise look good next to each other...

 

I am going to post several dozen "double" images that I've been accumulating over time, whenever I see cover art online that I find compelling. I've put some effort into placing the comic covers side-by-side so you can really compare them. I hope you enjoy the gallery. (Note: I've occasionally cheated and put together 3, 4, or more comics. Or cheated by adding in pulp or paperback covers.) I'll no doubt add more doubles in the future.

 

You are invited to add your own submissions whenever you come across two comic books that, for whatever reason, belong together. Please participate!

 

[Doohickamabob]

Might as well get two biggies out of the way. These are two of my all-time favorite comic-book covers. I personally think Wonder Comics #15 is more alluring than Startling Comics #49, because of the colors and the creepy factor. It's obvious that Alex Schomburg used the same model/image for each, as the body position and many contours of the dress and figure line up exactly. The gun-shooting men also are similar.

 

 

By the way: Is a microscope really necessary to look at the woman's chest?

[Timely]

Check out Captain Science #3 & Wings Comics #94! (thumbs u

 

West

[Doohickamabob]

Also favorite covers: I defy anybody to come up with two sexy-babe-versus-octopus covers better than these, by the masters Matt Baker and L.B. Cole.

 

[Doohickamabob]

Check out Captain Science #3 & Wings Comics #94! (thumbs u

West

 

Oh, I'm all over that.... Keep watching...

[Doohickamabob]

Speaking of fighting underwater animals, here are some of my favorite "babe versus shark" covers:

 

 

The first two are the all-time greats. The third is nowhere near as good, but bonus points for swimming with fashionable footwear. Nice to see women kicking shark butt/fin instead of letting the man do all the work, as below:

 

 

I'd like to think the men are fighting to save damsels in distress, but as you can see, the real motivation is underwater treasure.

[Doohickamabob]

This is the "Goofus and Gallant" of rollercoaster covers:

 

[Doohickamabob]

Goofus throws his mallet at someone's head. Gallant uses the mallet to properly play the game.

 

 

According to the scale, if you're moderately strong, you're a "pooh-pooh."

[Doohickamabob]

The most ridiculous cover plagiarism in comic-book history: Wings Comics #94 versus Captain Science #3. (Thanks Timely!) Were Bob Lubbers and Walter T. Johnson the same artist under different names? Was somebody on a really tight deadline? If anyone knows the story behind this, it would be illuminating:

 

[Doohickamabob]

Don't mess with creepy Weed Women! (Look out, Georgia O'Keeffe...)

 

[Doohickamabob]

FOURSOME: Nothing spells "hilarity" like people falling to their deaths in open manholes.

 

[Doohickamabob]

FOURSOME: I know I've seen several other examples of this cover concept, but these are the only four I've managed to file away. This is a low-tech attempt at 3-D before they figured out how to include 3-D glasses. I love how Brenda Starr's breasts seem to be doing most of the paper-tearing work (I guess that's why they call it a "bust"). Meanwhile, it appears Pyro-Man has some sort of chicken leg.

 

[Doohickamabob]

I call this duo "Matt Baker Phones It In": Left-aligned woman in peril? Check. Wearing a leg-revealing dress? Check. In a room that has purple drapes? Check. And a non-descript wall-hanging? Check. While a man attacks from an outside window? Check. As smoke streams through the air? Check.

 

 

 

[Doohickamabob]

L.B. COLE THEMES, PART 1: GROOVY SPACESHIPS

 

 

Bonus points to the artist for this Action Comics cover, which has the same spaceship:

 

 

SEE ALSO: L.B. Cole's impressive sci-fi "Blue Bolt" covers (maybe to be added later).

 

[Doohickamabob]

Speaking of outer space, here are two (non-L.B. Cole) space trains. Not sure what the benefit is of having a train in space, but whatever.

 

[Doohickamabob]

L.B. COLE THEMES, PART TWO: GIANT SPIDERS WITH SKULL HEADS (classic)

 

 

I'd list the Suspense Comics #8 in the top-10 all-time most iconic comic-book covers. Still, WTF is up with spiders that have skull heads? Apparently the eight-eyed look wasn't considered scary enough. Or maybe bugs-with-skull-heads are a common phenomenon. It would seem so from these examples (kudos to the board member who posted the skull-bee book a while back):

 

[Doohickamabob]

FICTION HOUSE SELF-PLAGIARISM, PART 1: CROC-O-MIRROR

 

I guess when you're turning out literally hundreds of jungle-themed comic books, after a while you just give up and create an exact replica of a cover you already published...

 

[Doohickamabob]

FICTION HOUSE SELF-PLAGIARISM PT. 2: NATIVE LUNGE

 

 

These two are hard to spot! Fiction House waited a few years between them, flipped the image, and even changed the background color. (Admittedly, I've probably missed more copycat covers than I've caught -- this one was pointed out by a collector friend.)

 

[Doohickamabob]

FICTION HOUSE SELF-PLAGIARISM, PT. 3: IDOL HEAD-CHOPPER

 

 

It's very convenient when the statue of your deity comes with a built-in guillotine.

[Doohickamabob]

FICTION HOUSE SELF-PLAGIARISM, PT. 4: PULP ORIGIN

 

There are probably hundreds of comic covers that are reworkings of pulp covers or book art. This one's a classic:

 

 

And continuing in the women-tied-to-a-post tradition (always a lovely sight):